R143 (New York City Subway car) - RollOverTheFloor
The R143 is a class of 216 new technology (NTT) New York City Subway cars built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries for the B Division. The cars retired the R30s and displaced the R42s that operated on the BMT Canarsie Line (L train) in order for it to be automated with CBTC. Description The R143s are numbered 8101-8316. The 216 cars were expected to provide enough service for years, but the fast growth of the Williamsburg neighborhood overloaded the L''' by mid-2006. The R143s are the first 60-foot (18.29 m) B Division cars built for the New York City Subway system since the R42 from 1969, the first NTT model for the B Division, and the only automated fleet in the subway system. They are currently based at East New York Yard. The R143s are similar to the slightly newer R160s; however, the two car types cannot be used interchangeably. Like the R142s and R142As, the R143s feature electronic strip maps with all stops on the '''L. Unlike the rest of the NTT fleet, the R143s are equipped with interior LED screens, which take the place of the MTA Arts for Transit cards that are usually located there. These screens can display advertisements, public safety announcements, and other information. The R160s were similarly retrofitted with LCD screens after they were delivered. However, the LCD screens on the R160s have the capabilities to display multiple colors instead of only red, orange, and green. History Timeline of contract The contract for the R143 was put out for bidding in January 1998. The initial contract called for 100 sixty-foot cars that would come in four-car sets. The new cars would be expected to have automatic PA announcements, high efficiency lighting, emergency intercom and customer alarms, AC propulsion motors, speedometers and event recorders, electronic information display signs, artwork, a central diagnostics monitoring system, microprocessor controlled air compressor, brake and communication systems, roof mounted microprocessor controlled HVAC, and to be compliant with ADA requirements. Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc. was awarded a $190 million contract for 100 new B Division cars in late December 1998, with an option for 116 more cars. The new design was based on the A Division's R142A, which Kawasaki also built. The cars were built with an average cost of about $1.5 million per car. Delivery Delivery of the cars began in late 2001. A 30-day revenue acceptance testing with one train of eight cars (8101-8108) began on December 4, 2001. According to Kawasaki, the test was "extremely successful". The cars began running on the Canarsie Line (L''' train) on February 12, 2002, where they have been assigned to. All 216 cars were delivered by March 2003. Retiring the remaining 216 out of the original 320 R30s altogether and displacing the R42s from the Canarsie Line to rest of the BMT Eastern Division lines, the R143s also displaced the R42s on the overnight '''M shuttle service of the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line, which made that line the first BMT Eastern Division line to be placed in overnight One Person Train Operation (OPTO) service. The R143s on the M''' were later displaced by the R160As in February 2008. OPTO service was also tested on the '''L during mid-2005, but it ended due to safety issues. Post-delivery On June 21, 2006, an eight-car R143 train overshot the bumper at the end of the tracks in the Canarsie Yard after the operator suffered a seizure. The first car, 8277, suffered significant damage and was stripped of damaged parts before being sent to the Kawasaki plant in Yonkers to receive repairs. The other cars in the set (8278-8280) suffered minor body damage and were moved to the 207th Street Yard and repaired. Eventually, 8277 was sent back to New York City Transit property and repaired. By early June 2010, car 8277 was finally recouped with 8278-8280, but the consist needed component upgrades to become operational. The set returned to service in late June 2010. See also * New Technology Train - List of all NTTs in the New York City Subway * R160 - Similar car built by Alstom (R160A) and Kawasaki Railcar (R160B)